While much of architecture is known for glossy images, high-profile clients and starchitect designers, there have been some truly amazing architects that have stayed somewhat under the radar. One of these people is MacArthur Grant winner Samuel Mockbee, who is marked by his transformation of ordinary materials into extraordinary environmentally and socially conscious buildings. More

Anyone with thick brick or stone walls has probably noticed that their home takes a long time to heat or cool during the day. This is because for years architects have employed high mass materials, which slow the flow of temperature, as a means to build passive, eco-friendly buildings. While these materials work well at regulating temperature fluctuations, they can be expensive, require additional structure and eat up building square footage. Thankfully, scientists have been working hard on developing the same technology, but on a microscopic level, in the form of phase change materials. More

In the 'green' world, it might instinctively seem like natural is always better. But when comparing natural stone with recycled and composite products, the greener choice might not be what you think. More

We already have roofing that can keep temperatures low and roofing that can harness the sun's energy to make electricity, and now a company is unveiling a roof tile that can actually reduce pollution! According to MonierLifetile, their smog eating roof tile, Auranox, can offset the equivalent of one year's pollution from driving.

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During my recent trip to Paris, amongst all the historic masonry buildings, I stumbled upon this modern freestanding prefab residence and was lucky enough to be given a (partially) translated tour of the house, Maisons be-Green. Similar to the Smart Home at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, this Parisian prefab was built as a demonstration structure to show new ways of building, as the French would say, "écologique." More

While using air conditioning can sometimes seem unavoidable, there are ways to design homes that don't need air conditioning at all. It's easy to forget, but many homes didn't have this amenity even as recent as 10 years ago, and most often naturally cooled environments actually feel better than artificially cooled air. Find out ways to inexpensively and easily incorporate naturally cooling into your home, after the jump. More

Some of the major advantages to most bamboo products such as flooring and cabinetry is their strength, durability and high rate of renewability. So while standard wood has dominated most of the structural lumber industry, bamboo is aiming to get in on the action with the first engineered dimensional lumber, Lumboo. More

Everyday people drop loads of money for expensive 'salvaged' building materials, solar power, non-toxic building materials and a prime location. But often a very simple and very green building technique is overlooked: deconstruction. While not all buildings can be saved, by carefully taking them apart rather than carelessly knocking it down, you can reap the benefits of high quality materials, unique building elements and sometimes extra cash in your pocket. More

Rainwater cisterns are a great way to collect large amount of water to reuse in your home are garden — unfortunately most cisterns are very big, have a large footprint and typically don't look very good... It's this problem that RainXchange is going to solve: underground rainwater collection. It easily integrates into landscaping and is perfect for those who don't like the look of a cistern or who are tight on space. More

It's summertime, which means a lot of people are going to start thinking about sprucing up their outdoor spaces, especially their hardscapes. But whether you're looking to rebuild your patio, deck, walkway or driveway, you should really considering using permeable (also known as pervious) materials instead of asphalt or concrete. More